CLIENT: Crohn's & Colitus Foundation of America
PR AGENCY: PFS Marketwyse
TIMEFRAME: January 2005
It all began when Roger Koman's 13- and 10-year-old children started enthusing about the Lance Armstrong Foundation's "Wear Yellow Live Strong" campaign characterized by
yellow rubberized bracelets with the word "LIVESTRONG," a phenomenally successful marketing effort designed to raise awareness of -- and money for -- cancer. This gave Koman, vice
president of new enterprises at the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA), who is also in charge of creating new revenue streams, a "Eureka!" moment.
"We had been talking about something similar before, but so many people at the Foundation just didn't get it," he says. "But in December 2004, I went back to my CEO and urged
him to think outside the regular box of this foundation."
Koman, who moved from the private sector to work at the foundation because his own daughter has the disease, knew it had to be more than just a bracelet: "We wanted a
universal message that meant something to the membership.
Founded in 1967, the CCFA's purpose was to raise funds to cure and prevent Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, collectively known as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD),
which largely affects those aged 15-35; approximately 1.5 million Americans suffer from the disease, according to Koman.
The result: "Got Guts," inscribed on blue silicon elastic bracelets that are aimed at raising awareness about a disease no one wants to talk about.
While people are willing to discuss and identify themselves with diseases like breast cancer, very few want to stand up and admit to having a problem with their bowels.
"Not only is it there a problem with awareness, but it's also a secret disease because it's debilitating and has no cure," Koman says. "We want people to be able to show
[people] that, even though they have this disease, they can do the same things others do, and, that they've got the guts to do it."
Launched in January 2005 via CCFA's Web site, its Take Charge magazine, an ad campaign as well as through the foundation's 40 chapters, the results were immediate.
Koman initially ordered just 10,000 bracelets, but more than 40,000 ended up being sold in the first month--far more than anticipated. At press time, more than 200,000 had
been shipped, with another 75,000 in the pipeline.
"Initially, I thought these bracelets would appeal to a younger crowd, judging by the reaction of my children," Koman says. But what surprised him was the extent to which
adults adopted them: "I don't know if it was luck, but it touched a nerve."
Now, he says, the foundation gets requests for supplies for parties, weddings and bar mitzvahs, and points to a town in Missouri where more than 3,000 people are wearing the
bracelets.
"It allows people to tell others they have Crohn's disease," he says. "The majority of people buy it for their cause. We have a very intense, loyal following."
Previously, CCFA was more conservative about fundraising.
"For years, unlike other non-profits, we had nothing to sell or promote," Koman says. It was only after experimenting with coffee mugs and selling about 500 of the mugs in two
months that Komna realized how hungry people were for such products.
In the past, CCFA had used PR only to pursue its legislative agenda in Washington, D.C. In 2004, it hired N.J.-based PFS Marketwyse in part because one of the principals had
a relationship with the disease, but also because of the company's strength in event marketing.
However, one potential problem was how to launch yet another bracelet into an already saturated market.
According to Chris Faust, vice president of client services at PFS Marketwyse, "The Lance Armstrong effort had already been played out to some degree. We did research on who
has written about the wristband phenomenon and went back to [CCFA] saying, 'Don't forget others also promoting their wristbands.' So we were able to breathe new life into it with
a different angle. Not everyone was receptive, but a fair amount were."
Adds Danny Jovic, senior account executive at PFS: "We approached the top 50 U.S. daily papers, and we looked at education/teen/non-profit/healthcare magazines. We landed
high-profile placements almost off the bat.
"The whole wristband phenomenon is still being played out in major media, and we caught a wave. There was interest about why these wristbands are becoming such a fad, which
allowed us to get our dialogue across. Now we're looking for additional ways to extend the story," Jovic adds.
As a result, "Got Guts" got coverage in the Arizona Newsday, Houston Chronicle, and the Sacramento Bee, as well as in numerous other newspapers and
magazines.
The campaign also got a notice in AutoWeek, after CCFA did a NASCAR-related event. NASCAR got the foundation in contact with one of lead editors at AutoWeek who
had suffered from the disease for years, but who had never written about it.
"He wrote two major articles about our event," Koman says. "He has a large following, and he told his readers, 'This is why you didn't hear from me so many times.'"
Then there's the article that's running this summer in Teen featuring Koman's own daughter.
"This article will allow us to talk to thousands of young kids to say, 'You can still overcome this and build a normal life,'" he says. "We didn't get this kind of press
before. PR works. PFS Marketwyse has been getting some amazing results. They got us coverage in places we never thought we'd get coverage, such as interviews on cable and radio.
With a little drip here and there, suddenly, you're witnessing a rainstorm."
PFS Marketwyse also involved several celebrities. "There are many more people in the sports and entertainment world who have the disease, but we're never going to tell
anyone," Koman says. "It affects all kinds of people in the public sector."
Now, he says, the biggest challenge is getting enough supplies of the blue bands from China. Up next on the production line: "Got Guts" pens and caps.
Contacts: Roger Koman, 212.685.3440 x 221, [email protected]; Danny Jovic, 973.812.883, x 249, [email protected]
Bracing For Change
With the bracelet fad having gone through the classic bell curve and now starting to decline, there's a question mark regarding how long the novelties can keep the publicity
going. As things stand today, the most famous bracelet - that little yellow number - has raised some $47 million at a dollar a pop. "There are some natural extensions and segues,
and we try to make a logical connection, and push advocacy and participation," says Chris Faust, vice president of client services at PFS Marketwyse. What's obviously helping
disseminate the story is the relative novelty of the Crohn's disease itself. Next on the agenda is pushing the PR program out to the CCFA's 40 chapters.